The Honourable William Vander Zalm
Minister of Municipal Affairs
Parliament Buildings Victoria,
British Columbia

Dear Sir:

At a meeting on May 5, 1980, the Board of Directors of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association passed a motion recommending “that the Vancouver Charter be amended so that voters not on the voting list, but wishing to vote, be treated in the same way as those voting under the Municipal Act“.

We understand that Vancouver is the only municipality in the province that does not follow the procedures set out in section 80 of the Municipal Act. We further understand that the expressed fears of some Vancouver Aldermen regarding potential abuses of voting privileges if Vancouver were to alter its procedures are discredited by the reports of municipal clerks in the GVRD who report no such abuses. We believe that the system in use in Vancouver makes voting more difficult and sometimes even impossible for persons who in fact are eligible to vote.

For these reasons we urge you to work with other members of the Government to amend section 73A of the Vancouver Charter so that voting rights in Vancouver civic elections will be the same as those in all other B.C. municipalities.

We look forward to hearing from you on this issue, and will do all we can to support action by you in favour of such an amendment.

Yours sincerely,

Lynda Hird

June 2, 1980.

Miss L. Hird
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
P.O. Box 24833, Station C
Vancouver, B.C.
V5T 4E9

Dear Miss Hird:

Thank you for pour letter of May 16, 1980 advising of the Board of Directors motion recommending “that the Vancouver Charter be amended so that voters not on the voting list, but wishing to vote, be treated in the same way as those voting under the Municipal Act”.

Please be assured that I have found section 80A of the Municipal Act to be useful and workable, and I believe that it is essential in extending the franchise in municipalities outside of the City of Vancouver.

As a matter of policy I do not believe that the Vancouver Charter should be amended without a formal request from Vancouver City Council. Therefore, by way of a carbon copy of this letter, I am referring your recommendation for amendment to the Vancouver Charter to Vancouver City Council so that they may respond directly to you.

Sincerely,

William N. Vender Zalm
Minister